Silvia Gonzalez S. – Playwright, Prose Poet, Humorist
EL VAGON/BOXCAR was a National Winner of VOCES at Repertorio Espanol (NYC). The play was filmed and is available for streaming. Subsequently, it was produced by Phoenix’s Teatro Bravo with Borderlands Theater. Spindrift Theater in San Francisco produced the play and members remounted the play and named their new theater EL Vagon Theater after the play. Plans for another production either 2021 or 2022. Theater for Young Folk at Arizona State University produced ALICIA IN WONDER TIERRA (Or I Can’t Eat Goat Head) directed by Pam Sterling. The play was also produced by Berkeley Rep, The Coterie, Cara Mia Theatre Company with The Dallas Children’s Theater, Utah State Theater, and Teatro Humildad. ALICIA was a Kennedy Center New Voices/New Vision participant. Silvia garnished a commission from John F. Kennedy Center and the Oregon Commission on the Arts.
The pandemic made Silvia discover filming her projects. She has a film of DON’T JUST LOOK a puppet play supported by California Arts Council and Arts in Accessibility Grant. She is currently editing her play turned film PEDRO THE PUPPETEER, which will be available for streaming in December. Silvia is also interested in filming a docummentary of JOAQUIN, her play about Joaquin Murrieta who fought for justice in a cruel 1840s Gold mining era that was havoc for people of color. She is currently looking for funding for that project.
A sampling of her works are below.
EL VAGON/BOXCAR
“The passion of the five immigrants transcends language; their longing for their destination is palpable in their physicality.” – Backstage
“…a moving snapshot from the front lines…elegantly designed and fiercely acted…” – Village Voice
Go to Boxcar/El Vagon
ALICIA IN WONDER TIERRA (Or I Can’t Eat Goat Head)
“She has delved into her Mexican heritage to create a Latin American parallel to “Alice in Wonderland”…She shows great inventiveness in devising these characters, basing them on familiar figures that are as fanciful and flamboyant as those in Lewis Carroll’s classic.The Coterie production captures very well the play’s ethnic flavor and hallucinatory premise. The colorful costumes and set and the elementary comedy and sight gags please the youngsters, while all of these and the ethnic humor catch the adults.” – Variety
Go to Alice in Wonder Tierra
THE MIGRANT FARMWORKER’S SON
“This play reminded some audience members of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, but with a migrant experience.” – David Acevedo / Director Teatro Unido (San Francisco)
“This play by Silvia Gonzalez S. depicts the familiar situation of the immigrant family living in two worlds… The production’s excellent tension is generated by the strength of the actors. Ramon Busto’s Papa is autocratic, romantic, and out of control. He cannot display his vulnerability and instead plays the macho man and risks everything he loves most. 5 Stars” – San Francisco Examiner
Briefly, other achievements include: Kennedy Center New Visions New Voices Award, Oregon Arts Commission Fellowship Award, a Sundance Film option, a Lila Wallace/Readers Digest Grant Award and an Honorable Mention in the HBO’s Writer Project. (*See resume tab for other awards and productions.)